You may ar may not know that there has been some serious racing going on down in Key West Fl last week. One of the participants moors his Henderson 30 at my dock and has been sending reports daily on the progress. I though I'd post them as they give an unvarnished view of the race week. The reports only go Sat. through Thirsday. They did not race friday do to too many of the crew were to banged up to continue. Even with a friday forfeit, They finished 9th. Ok, here we go. I'm just pasting this in as I got it.... Sat- Had the laptop, so thought I would send notes from Key West Race >Week. You can foreward them, post them or not. >Dave and John Skiles trailered the boat boat down Thurs. from West Palm >Beach where he had left it before Christmas. Luckily Dave, Kathy and >John were able to get it launched Thurs. afternoon. Most of the crew >(including myself) came in Fri. afternoon. >After delayed flights , lost luggage and Kathy making several trips back >and forth to the airport, we were finally able to get everyone together. > >Crew is Dave, Kathy, John Skiles, John Langstaff (JL), Mark Williams and >myself from Dallas, Ed Furry (Quantam Sales) - Houston, Wendell Gregory >- Seattle and Jim Bridges - Booth Bay, Maine. Currently have 263 boats >registered with probably more to come. There are 10 Henderson 30's . >For some stupid reason we lost one design status when they decided to >add four more boats to our group and make us race PHRF. The other four >boats are a new Melges 32 (complete with Buddy ), a Melges 30, Synergy >1000, and a Thompson 30. The Hendersons are the slow boats at 45 phrf, >the new Melges is scratch boat at 27. If you like big toys, this is the >place to be... Mumm 30's, ID35's, Farr 40's everywhere and a host of >everything else up to and including some SantaCruz 70's. Like I said, >263 boats and counting. > >Spent the remainder of Fri. afternoon setting up the boat and found a >couple of new things to fix. Good thing the boat was in Thurs since Fri >the wind was blowing 25kts with gusts to 40kts. Line at the launch was >backed up because of people having trouble in the wind. We were going >to practice today (Sat ) but wind was still blowing 25+ and so we >decided to do final clean-up in the boat and do the tourista stuff >rather than go out and trash the new sails. Tomorrow we've decided to >practice regardless. Skippers meeting/party tomorrow night. Eight >races scheduled Mon - Fri. I'll try to send daily updates if the racing >partying doesn't do us in.
. >Bob Harmon > Sun- >Had already planned on practicing. Wind was still blowing 20 -25kts. >Not a fun practice. Couple of big time boaches (mast tip was probably 5" >off the water). Did have one fun run of about a mile and a half hitting >14+ knots on the surfs. Jibed and headed off 30 seconds ... slammed >again. Mark Williams was bleeding all ofer the deck with a sliced finger >(not too bad, just bloody). Decided to head back to the dock for lunch >and to try to figure out why we weren't controlling the boat. Got back >to the dock and had a real scare. John Skiles had been caught by the >boom earlier in an accidental jibe and had gotten slammed into the >shrouds. After we got back to the dock he collapsed with severe back >pain, back spasams and uncontollable shaking. We were afraid he might >have internal injurys from the earlier accident so Dave called an >ambulance and they took him to the hospital. After a couple of hours of >test they found nothing wrong.. slightly sprained back, agrivated by the >muscle spasams, and further aggrivated by slight dehydration and >hyperventilating. Gave him an IV of saline and a tetnus shot and let >him go. Back is still sore so Dave would like him to rest tomorrow, but >John thinks he is OK to sail. We're going to wait til the morning and >see. If John is not able to sail, Cynthia Creamer from Austin is >going to come with us. She came down with a group from Austin to party >and John Bartlett set her up as spare crew. She volunteered to sail >with us til John feels able. Big party tonight after skippers meeting. >Lots of FREE Mount Gay drinks. First two races tomorrow. Wind is >scheduled to be 10-15 kts. Hopefully, we'll get our act together. Will >let you know tomorrow. >Bob Harmon > Mon- he 10 - 15 actually turned out to be 15 - 20. Everyones still getting >use to boat and positions. > >First race. > Accelerated late and were about 5 secs late for the start. Got >couple of boats over us and had to tack away from where we wanted to >go. Basically had a real bad case of the slows. Crew work was OK. >Couple of minor things but nothing major. One minor round up but we >were able to bear off re-trim and back off on a surf. Oh, I did forget >about hitting the mark after one of the big boats rolled over us and >took our wind. Over all 13th (out of 14). Needles to say not one of our >better showings. > >Second Race. > Things got better but not not initially. Blew the start big time. >We were Late (4th row on a three row start). Not your typical Dave. >Anyway, we managed to start getting the boat dialed in and started >catching boats. Managed to battle our way back up in the pack, the got >forced to the wrong gate at the leward gate and gave up a couple of >boats. Tied to head right to get some leverage but basically held >position and finished 9th. > >Good news is that we seem to getting the boat dialed in better and crew >work continues to improve. > Tues- Skiles has recovered from his back spasms and felt well enough to sail >today. Wind was light.. 5 - 8 kts. Dave was back on form and had a >good start snd we were able to pinch off a couple of boats. Had the >boat moving well and we were 3rd around the first mark Blew the >spinnaker take down and went the wrong way and lost four boats on the >2nd upwind. Closed up a little on the downwind but blew the second >takedown and lost two more boats. Closed up on the fleet but ended 9th >again. Due to the light air, RC only ran one race today. Tomorrow was >scheduled for one race but committee will run two (if possible) to catch >up. wind is again scheduled for 5-10 tomorrow then building Thurs and >Fri. > >Overall we were happy with boat speed and were able move or at least >hold speed with the rest of the fleet. Still some problems with crew >work as everyone gets used to positions. With Skiles back on the boat >today several of us switched around which caused some confusion on >assignments. It's a tough fleet but we're getting better and except for >a couple of gotchas would have been up with the leaders. Racing is >great, lots of good competition. Lots of races left and the parties at >night (FREE rum every night) with a thousand people or so are also >great. It's party city. > Wed- >Things continue to improve. Dave wanted to try some different things on >the boat to be able to look around at the big picture. So after the >start the new strategy was to let Kathy drive the upwind legs and Dave >would do the downwinds. Winds were light 5-8kts again. > >Race 1 > Dave is back in form and nailed the start. Able to pinch off a >couple of boats. Unfortunately we missed a wind shift on the first beat >and got a little out of phase. Started catching the ID35 fleet which >made mark rounding a real hassel. We had speed and point on most of the >other Hendersons but unable to make any major gains and ended up >finishing 6th. Still improving though. > >Race 2 > Dave's tiller extension came loose and he was screwing with that >rather than concentrating on the start and got rolled by the Melges 32. >First mark rounding was not looking good as we were well down in the >pack. Down wind was looking really ugly for awhile and we were afraid >we screwed up. Fortunately things were not as bad a they looked and we >did well and picked up several boats. Kat made up for getting rolled by >Buddy and the Melges at the start by cracking off a little and powering >through to leeward.on the second beat. Tactics, crewwork, and boatspeed >are starting to come together. They sortened the course and we finished >3rd. > >Three more races to go. two tomorrow and one Fri. Score to date 13, 9, >9, 6, 3. Have a nice trend going. Tomorrows winds are forcast 10-15kts >in the morning and building to 20 in the afternoon. > > Thirs- ate: Thursday, January 20, 2000 7:47 PM Subject: Key West - Thurs >This is what racing is all about. Wind 20 kts. The beats to weather >were tough but the downwind rides were INCREDIBLE!! Dave said that this >was the most fun he had had on a sailboat in years. I think everyone on >board would agree. I know I do. > >Race 1. > Average start. First leg we were trying to get the boat moving well >in the chop. Bad case of the slows. Rounded down in the pack. >Downwind got interesting REAL quick. On a plane, surfing the waves, all >the Hendersons were flying. Had trouble getting the main across on the >jibe. Came across late and rounded up. Several other boats were also >having problems on the jibes, so we basically held position. Starting >to get the boat dialed in on the second beat but still a little slow >compared to the rest of the fleet. Second downwind was an absolutely >screaming, adrenaline pumping ride. We caught a puff and wave and blew >by four of the other Hendersons. Our knot meter wasn't working but Eric >Hood was on one of the other Hendersons and he said they were doing >17kts when we passed. The ID35's, Far 40's and all the others were >watching the Hendersons planing by. We blew by a Santa Cruz 52 like it >was parked. Jibe was good and later jibe to the finish was good. Ended >up 7th but we we really didn't mind. The rides were worth it > >Race 2 > Another average start but boat speed starting to match up with the >others. Rounded the first mark middle of fleet. Downwind was another >wild ride.. on a plane most of the way. Jibes were getting better...no >crashes. Second beat speed still getting better.. now holding our own. >Second downwind even wilder than the first. Got to the leward mark at >the same time as the Farr 40's which were on a longer course. Rounded in >a gaggle of Farrs and almost skewered one with our pole at the >rounding. Had to duck when another tacked directly in front. What was >interesting is that under the conditions we were racing our speed >matched up pretty well with the Farrs. The bad news was we had to watch >our lanes for clean air and had a couple dump on us. Finished in 4th. > >Wind tomorrow is scheduled 30 - 35+. If we don't kill ourselves, should >be a hoot. >
. >Bob Harmon > Sun- >Had already planned on practicing. Wind was still blowing 20 -25kts. >Not a fun practice. Couple of big time boaches (mast tip was probably 5" >off the water). Did have one fun run of about a mile and a half hitting >14+ knots on the surfs. Jibed and headed off 30 seconds ... slammed >again. Mark Williams was bleeding all ofer the deck with a sliced finger >(not too bad, just bloody). Decided to head back to the dock for lunch >and to try to figure out why we weren't controlling the boat. Got back >to the dock and had a real scare. John Skiles had been caught by the >boom earlier in an accidental jibe and had gotten slammed into the >shrouds. After we got back to the dock he collapsed with severe back >pain, back spasams and uncontollable shaking. We were afraid he might >have internal injurys from the earlier accident so Dave called an >ambulance and they took him to the hospital. After a couple of hours of >test they found nothing wrong.. slightly sprained back, agrivated by the >muscle spasams, and further aggrivated by slight dehydration and >hyperventilating. Gave him an IV of saline and a tetnus shot and let >him go. Back is still sore so Dave would like him to rest tomorrow, but >John thinks he is OK to sail. We're going to wait til the morning and >see. If John is not able to sail, Cynthia Creamer from Austin is >going to come with us. She came down with a group from Austin to party >and John Bartlett set her up as spare crew. She volunteered to sail >with us til John feels able. Big party tonight after skippers meeting. >Lots of FREE Mount Gay drinks. First two races tomorrow. Wind is >scheduled to be 10-15 kts. Hopefully, we'll get our act together. Will >let you know tomorrow. >Bob Harmon > Mon- he 10 - 15 actually turned out to be 15 - 20. Everyones still getting >use to boat and positions. > >First race. > Accelerated late and were about 5 secs late for the start. Got >couple of boats over us and had to tack away from where we wanted to >go. Basically had a real bad case of the slows. Crew work was OK. >Couple of minor things but nothing major. One minor round up but we >were able to bear off re-trim and back off on a surf. Oh, I did forget >about hitting the mark after one of the big boats rolled over us and >took our wind. Over all 13th (out of 14). Needles to say not one of our >better showings. > >Second Race. > Things got better but not not initially. Blew the start big time. >We were Late (4th row on a three row start). Not your typical Dave. >Anyway, we managed to start getting the boat dialed in and started >catching boats. Managed to battle our way back up in the pack, the got >forced to the wrong gate at the leward gate and gave up a couple of >boats. Tied to head right to get some leverage but basically held >position and finished 9th. > >Good news is that we seem to getting the boat dialed in better and crew >work continues to improve. > Tues- Skiles has recovered from his back spasms and felt well enough to sail >today. Wind was light.. 5 - 8 kts. Dave was back on form and had a >good start snd we were able to pinch off a couple of boats. Had the >boat moving well and we were 3rd around the first mark Blew the >spinnaker take down and went the wrong way and lost four boats on the >2nd upwind. Closed up a little on the downwind but blew the second >takedown and lost two more boats. Closed up on the fleet but ended 9th >again. Due to the light air, RC only ran one race today. Tomorrow was >scheduled for one race but committee will run two (if possible) to catch >up. wind is again scheduled for 5-10 tomorrow then building Thurs and >Fri. > >Overall we were happy with boat speed and were able move or at least >hold speed with the rest of the fleet. Still some problems with crew >work as everyone gets used to positions. With Skiles back on the boat >today several of us switched around which caused some confusion on >assignments. It's a tough fleet but we're getting better and except for >a couple of gotchas would have been up with the leaders. Racing is >great, lots of good competition. Lots of races left and the parties at >night (FREE rum every night) with a thousand people or so are also >great. It's party city. > Wed- >Things continue to improve. Dave wanted to try some different things on >the boat to be able to look around at the big picture. So after the >start the new strategy was to let Kathy drive the upwind legs and Dave >would do the downwinds. Winds were light 5-8kts again. > >Race 1 > Dave is back in form and nailed the start. Able to pinch off a >couple of boats. Unfortunately we missed a wind shift on the first beat >and got a little out of phase. Started catching the ID35 fleet which >made mark rounding a real hassel. We had speed and point on most of the >other Hendersons but unable to make any major gains and ended up >finishing 6th. Still improving though. > >Race 2 > Dave's tiller extension came loose and he was screwing with that >rather than concentrating on the start and got rolled by the Melges 32. >First mark rounding was not looking good as we were well down in the >pack. Down wind was looking really ugly for awhile and we were afraid >we screwed up. Fortunately things were not as bad a they looked and we >did well and picked up several boats. Kat made up for getting rolled by >Buddy and the Melges at the start by cracking off a little and powering >through to leeward.on the second beat. Tactics, crewwork, and boatspeed >are starting to come together. They sortened the course and we finished >3rd. > >Three more races to go. two tomorrow and one Fri. Score to date 13, 9, >9, 6, 3. Have a nice trend going. Tomorrows winds are forcast 10-15kts >in the morning and building to 20 in the afternoon. > > Thirs- ate: Thursday, January 20, 2000 7:47 PM Subject: Key West - Thurs >This is what racing is all about. Wind 20 kts. The beats to weather >were tough but the downwind rides were INCREDIBLE!! Dave said that this >was the most fun he had had on a sailboat in years. I think everyone on >board would agree. I know I do. > >Race 1. > Average start. First leg we were trying to get the boat moving well >in the chop. Bad case of the slows. Rounded down in the pack. >Downwind got interesting REAL quick. On a plane, surfing the waves, all >the Hendersons were flying. Had trouble getting the main across on the >jibe. Came across late and rounded up. Several other boats were also >having problems on the jibes, so we basically held position. Starting >to get the boat dialed in on the second beat but still a little slow >compared to the rest of the fleet. Second downwind was an absolutely >screaming, adrenaline pumping ride. We caught a puff and wave and blew >by four of the other Hendersons. Our knot meter wasn't working but Eric >Hood was on one of the other Hendersons and he said they were doing >17kts when we passed. The ID35's, Far 40's and all the others were >watching the Hendersons planing by. We blew by a Santa Cruz 52 like it >was parked. Jibe was good and later jibe to the finish was good. Ended >up 7th but we we really didn't mind. The rides were worth it > >Race 2 > Another average start but boat speed starting to match up with the >others. Rounded the first mark middle of fleet. Downwind was another >wild ride.. on a plane most of the way. Jibes were getting better...no >crashes. Second beat speed still getting better.. now holding our own. >Second downwind even wilder than the first. Got to the leward mark at >the same time as the Farr 40's which were on a longer course. Rounded in >a gaggle of Farrs and almost skewered one with our pole at the >rounding. Had to duck when another tacked directly in front. What was >interesting is that under the conditions we were racing our speed >matched up pretty well with the Farrs. The bad news was we had to watch >our lanes for clean air and had a couple dump on us. Finished in 4th. > >Wind tomorrow is scheduled 30 - 35+. If we don't kill ourselves, should >be a hoot. >